Over 7 years since its launch and with a new console on the horizon, Nintendo is finally releasing a Switch accessory that you’d think would have been available from the start

Nintendo has announced the Joy-Con Charging Stand accessory, a welcome but somewhat bizarre addition to the console after seven years on the market.

Earlier today, Nintendo unveiled the Joy-Con Charging Stand (Two Way) accessory, as shown in the tweet below. Extending from any USB-C plug, the accessory can basically charge two Joy-Con controllers for your Nintendo Switch at once, either horizontally using a stand or lying flat on a vertical surface. The accessory will be out later this year on October 17.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch – charging Joy-Con controllers can be a meddlesome task at times, especially with their relatively tenuous battery life. But why is Nintendo rolling the Joy-Con Charging Stand out now, over seven years after the Switch first launched, and with a new console on the horizon?

That’s what Twitter’s response to the announcement is also wondering. “Bit late don’t you think?! . . . at the end of the Switch’s life!” one response reads. “This seems like something that should have been released seven years ago,” another chimes in, while elsewhere, another user writes, “Why did it take until near the end of the systems lifetime before making this when 3rd party had these available in 2017?”

That final comment makes a really good point. Head to Amazon, for example, and you can find countless third-party Joy-Con charging accessories, the majority of which have been available since relatively soon after the Switch launched in 2017. Maybe Nintendo is finally getting in on the charging accessory action after seeing what everyone else has been doing, but it’s sure taken its sweet time.

Read up on our guide to the best Nintendo Switch controllers if you’re thinking of picking up a new pad.